Patient gown facilitating frontal access

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the present invention provides a patient gown, comprising a robe having a main opening at a back of the robe. At least one side of a front upper portion of the robe is releasably attachable to a corresponding side of a back upper portion of the robe to provide frontal access through a chest portion of the robe. Further, at least one fastener may be located near a shoulder portion of the robe for attaching and detaching the front upper portion to the corresponding back upper portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Appln. No. 60/803,426, filed May 30, 2006, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, hospital patients are provided with a gown to wear as opposedto their ordinary clothing. Conventional gowns are made from severalpieces of material stitched together to form a single draping witharmholes and a large opening in the rear. Accordingly, patients woulddon the gown by extending their arms through the arm holes, letting thegown wrap around the front of their bodies. The large opening in theback is typically kept closed by folding back panels of the gown overone another or by holding the gown in one hand. Some gowns may includestrings to be tied at the back of the patient's neck in order to holdthe gown in position.

Conventional patient gowns have proven to be cumbersome and frustratingto maneuver, especially when the patient is under anesthesia andtherefore unable to assist. For example, a patient wearing a back-opengown and lying on his back may prevent the gown from being easilyrepositioned by a physician. Thus, in order to gain access to the frontof the patient's body, for example, to check the patient's vital signs,the physician would have to lift the patient while tugging the gown fromunderneath him, and pull the gown down away from the patient's chest.This requires strenuous and time consuming efforts by the physician. Inan emergency situation, where immediate frontal access to a patient isnecessary, the moments lost in manipulating the patient gown could becritical. Accordingly, a patient gown providing for frontal access isdesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention provides a patient gown,comprising a robe having a main opening at a back of the robe. At leastone side of a front upper portion of the robe is releasably attachableto a corresponding side of a back upper portion of the robe to providefrontal access through a chest portion of the robe. Further, at leastone fastener may be located near a shoulder portion of the robe forattaching and detaching the front upper portion to the correspondingback upper portion.

A further embodiment of the present invention provides a method foraccessing a front of a patient's body, wherein the patient is layingdown and wearing a back-open gown, at least one side of a front upperportion of the gown being releasably attachable to a corresponding sideof a back upper portion of the gown to provide frontal access through achest portion of the gown, and the gown having at least one fastenerlocated near a shoulder portion for attaching and detaching the frontupper portion to the corresponding back upper portion. The methodcomprises manipulating the gown by detaching at least one side of afront upper portion of the gown from a back upper portion; and foldingdown the detached front portion of the gown.

An even further embodiment of the present invention provides a patientgown, comprising a removable cover means having a front portion, a backportion, armholes at either sides, and a main opening extending along alength of the back portion. A frontal access means may include asecondary opening near a top portion of the cover means, and frontalfastening means may be positioned relative to the secondary opening. Thefrontal fastening means may provide for detachment and reattachment of afront upper portion of the cover means to a corresponding back upperportion of the cover means.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a patient gowncomprises a removable covering having a front panel and a back panel,wherein the front panel and back panel may be releasably attached toform sleeves at either sides. The front panel may be stitched to theback panel along a seam running lengthwise below the sleeves, and a mainopening extends along a length of the back panel. A frontal opening mayextend across a top portion of the covering relative to a shoulder line,the frontal opening enabling an upper portion of the front panel to betemporarily detached from the back panel down to a lowest point of eachsleeve. At least one rear fastener is preferably positioned relative tothe main opening to provide for multiple positions for attachment andenable expansion or reduction of a fit size of the covering. At leastone shoulder fastener is preferably positioned relative to the frontalopening to provide for multiple positions for attachment of the frontpanel of the covering to the back panel and thus to enable expansion orreduction of a fit size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a patient gown in a completely open position.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a patient gown in a closed position.

FIG. 3 is another front view of a patient gown which has beenmanipulated to show releasable attachment of portions of the gown.

FIG. 4 is a still further front view of a patient gown which has beenmanipulated to show a top-open position.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a patient gown being worn by a patient andmanipulated to provide access to the patient's chest area.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a patient gown in a back-open position.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of a patient gown in a closed position.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another patient gown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 show front views of a patient gown 10 according to anembodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the gown 10 is laid outin a completely open position, as it may be prior to assembly. As shown,a drape of material forms a front panel 12 including a length ofmaterial sufficient to preserve a patient's privacy. Two rear flaps 56,58 may be stitched to sides of the front panel 12. Specifically, bottomedges of the rear flaps 56, 58 may align with a bottom edge of the frontpanel 12, and abutting side edges may be stitched together from thebottom alignment up to a lowest point of an armhole, thereby formingseams 17. Although in FIG. 1 the rear flaps 56, 58 are stitched to thefront panel 12 at seams 17, one or both of the flaps 56, 58 and thefront panel 12 may alternatively be formed from a single piece ofmaterial.

Each of the rear flaps 56, 58 may be folded behind the front panel 12and thereby form a rear panel of the gown 10. As shown in FIG. 6, forexample, the back panel includes the two flaps 56, 58, which may bemanipulated to create an opening 54. The flaps 56, 58 may also be closedas shown in FIG. 7. The rear flaps 56, 58 may then be secured to oneanother by engaging fasteners 50 and 52, as described in further detailbelow. Furthermore, upper extensions of the rear flaps 56, 58 may foldback over a top of the front panel 12 so that fasteners 20 and 22 mayengage. When fasteners 50 and 52 are engaged, and fasteners 20 and 22are also engaged, the gown 10 is in a closed position, as shown in FIG.2. A patient may prefer to wear the gown 10 in this closed position toretain privacy when access to the patient's body is not needed.

Optionally, the front panel 12 of the gown 10 may further include arecessed neck line 13. The neck line 13 allows the gown 10 to fitcomfortably on the patient without restraint.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the gown 10 may be assembled to includearmholes 14, 14′. For example, extensions of the front panel 12 and backpanel flaps 56, 58 may be contoured to form sleeves. Specifically, alower sleeve 16 may extend from the front panel 12, whereas an uppersleeve 18 may extend from the rear panel. The lower sleeve 16 and theupper sleeve 18 may optionally be sewn together at one end proximal tothe patient's underarm and left free at another end proximal to thepatient's shoulder. In this regard, the upper sleeve 18 may wrap aroundthe patient's shoulder and be releasably attached to the lower sleeve16.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the upper sleeve 18 is formed of a largerquantity of material than the lower sleeve 16. Accordingly, the uppersleeve 18 may extend over to a position forward of the patient'sshoulder, and thereby overlap with the front panel 12 and the lowersleeve 16. Further to this embodiment, fasteners may be positionedforward of the patient's shoulder and more proximal to the patient'schest. In this regard, a physician may easily and quickly reach thefasteners or portions of material near the fasteners for detachment suchas when a patient is facing the physician or when the patient is lyingon his back. Similarly, the physician may easily reattach the frontpanel 12 and lower sleeve 16 to the upper sleeve 18 without strain.

As shown in FIG. 3, fasteners may be positioned on the patient gown 10in order to secure the gown 10 around a patient's shoulders. Forexample, one or more fasteners 22 may reside on an upper portion of thefront panel 12, and one or more corresponding fasteners 20 may reside onan abutting surface of the upper sleeve 18 which extends from the rearpanel 58. When the upper sleeve 18 is wrapped around the patient'sshoulder, the fasteners 20, 22 may engage, thereby securing the gown inplace. Fasteners such as hook and loop fasteners, or Velcro®, may engageparticularly well.

Fasteners may also be included on the rear panels 56, 58 of the gown toprovide a relatively secure closure of the main opening 54. For example,at least one fastener 52 may be placed on an outer surface of the rearpanel 56 near the opening 54. Correspondingly, at least one matingfastener 50 may be placed on an inner surface of the rear panel 58.Accordingly, when the rear panel 58 is folded over the rear panel 56,the fasteners 50, 52 may engage.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front panel 12 of the patient gown 10 maybe detached so as to gain frontal access to the patient. The uppersleeve 18 extending from the rear of the gown 10 may be temporarilydetached from the lower sleeve 16 extending from the front panel 12. Anupper portion of the front panel 12 may then be folded down. Forexample, the entire upper front panel 12 including lower sleeves 16, 16′and neck line 13 may be pulled away from the patient's chest.Alternatively, only one side of the gown 10 may be temporarily detachedand pulled away from the patient if access to the patient's entire torsois unnecessary. According to one embodiment, the front panel 12 and backflaps may only be stitched together from their bottom edges to a heightapproximating a patient's hip. In this regard, the front panel 12 may bedetached at the sleeves and pulled down to expose the patient's torsoand groin.

The fasteners 20, 22 may be arranged to provide for adjustment of a fitsize of the gown 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, fasteners 22 maybe three Velcro® strips approximately 1″ wide and 2.5″ long. Thefasteners 22 may be positioned about 2″ apart, approximately parallel toone another and out of parallel (e.g., angularly or approximatelyperpendicular) to an upper seam 26 of the lower sleeve 16 on its outersurface. The corresponding fastener 20 may be a single long strip ofVelcro® approximately 1″ wide and 8″ long. The fastener 20 may bepositioned approximately parallel to a lower seam 28 of the upper sleeve18 on its inner surface or near its edge. Accordingly, when the uppersleeve 18 is wrapped around the patient's shoulder, the fastener 20 mayinterlock with any or all of the fasteners 22 at any point along theirlengths in order to secure the gown 10 around the patient's shoulders.If the fastener 20 interconnects at a lower point of the fasteners 22,the sleeve of the gown 10 will in turn be wrapped tighter around thepatient's arm and thereby change a fit size. Use of multiple smallerfasteners in this configuration saves material and is thus moreeconomical.

In addition to providing for adjustment of the gown size around thepatient's arms and shoulders, fasteners 20, 22 also provide for secureattachment of the front panel 12 to the rear panels 56, 58 despiteinexact placement. For example, a physician may quickly fold up thefront panel 12 and the lower sleeve 16 and fold down the upper sleeve 18to achieve a secure attachment of the gown 10 around the patient. Thephysician need not take additional time to align and interconnect thefasteners 20, 22.

Similar to the fasteners 20, 22, the fasteners 50, 52 may provide foradjustment of a fit size of the gown 10. That is, the fasteners 50, 52may be variably positioned so that the gown 10 fits more snugly orloosely around a patient's torso. For example, as shown in FIG. 6,Velcro® strips may be positioned on an outer surface of the rear panel56. The strips may be approximately 1″ wide and 5.5″ long. Three stripsmay be oriented approximately parallel and 3.5″ apart. This group ofstrips may be non-parallel (e.g., approximately perpendicular) to and1.5″ away from an edge 66 of the rear panel 56. At least onecorresponding fastener 50 may be formed of a Velcro® strip approximately1″ wide and 13″ long, and positioned on an inner surface of the rearpanel 58. The strip 50 may be oriented approximately parallel to and1.5″ away from a seam 68 of the panel 58. Accordingly, the rear panel 58may be folded over the rear panel 56 to interconnect the fasteners 50,52.

It should be understood that many alternative embodiments of the presentinvention exist, particularly with respect to the fasteners 20, 22, 50,52. The fasteners may vary in form and position, and may also retain theability to adjust gown sizing. For example, the Velcro® strips may beany size, any number of strips may be used, and the positioning of thestrips on the gown and orientations may be modified. Further, althoughthe above-described embodiment employs hook and loop fasteners, such asVelcro®, any type of fastening means may be used. For example, ties,snaps, buttons, clips, buckles, or zippers may temporarily secure theupper sleeve 18 to the lower sleeve 16.

Although the upper sleeve 18 in the above described embodiment wrapsaround the patient's shoulder to the front of the patient's body, itshould be understood that the upper and lower sleeves 18, 16 may vary indesign. For example, the respective portions of material may be sized asto overlap near different areas of the patient's body, such as above thepatient's shoulder, over the patient's armpit, or over the patient'scollar bone. The fasteners 20, 22 may corresponding be repositioned nearthe overlap. Further, the gown 10 may have shorter or no sleeves, asshown in FIG. 8. Accordingly, straps 88 and 88′, as opposed to uppersleeves 18 and 18′, may extend from the rear flaps 56, 58 over thepatient's shoulders and attach to the front panel 12.

According to the above-described embodiment, the rear flaps 56, 58 arejoined with the front panel 12 up to the lowest points of the armholes14, 14′. However, in a variant of this embodiment, shown in FIG. 8,seams 17 join the rear flaps 56, 58 to the front panel 12 only up to apoint proximal to a patient's hip. Accordingly, when the straps 88, 88′are detached from the front panel 12, the front panel 12 may potentiallybe folded down to expose the patient's torso, navel, and groin. Thus, aphysician may perform a wider range of medical procedures withoutrequiring removal or strenuous manipulation of the gown 10. Further tothis embodiment, the patient may prevent exposure through sides of thegown 10 when access is not needed by securing tabs 82 and 84. Forexample, an end of each of the tabs 82, 84 may be sewn to the rear flapsat a point under the armholes 14, 14′. Opposing ends of the tabs 82, 84may then be fastened to the front panel 12 by fasteners 83, 85. Thefasteners 83, 85 may be any type of fastener, such as hook and loop,snaps, buckles, buttons, or pins.

Garment measurements of the gown may vary. For example, the gown 10 maybe produced in several sizes, such as child, adult, and plus. In each ofthe sizes, further fit adjustment may be achieved by repositioning thefasteners 20, 22, 50, 52 as described above.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for gainingfrontal access to a patient wearing the gown 10 described above isprovided. In this method, a patient is first fitted with the gown 10.Fasteners 50, 52, and/or 20, 22 may be adjusted to achieve a comfortablefit for the patient. Once the patient is outfitted, the patient mayprepare for a medical procedure to be performed by a physician. In manyinstances, this may mean the patient lies on his back on the physician'stable. As the patient lies down, the rear panels 56, 58 of the gown canbecome pinned beneath him. Depending on the medical procedure, thepatient may be required to undergo anesthesia, in which case the patientcannot voluntarily move to allow the physician to readjust the gown 10.However, the physician may temporarily detach the upper sleeve 18 fromthe lower sleeve 16. Once detached, the front panel 12 of the gown 10becomes freed and may be folded down, thereby exposing the patient'schest or the frontal torso area. Accordingly, the physician gainsfrontal access to the patient and may perform procedures such aschecking a heart rate or administering shock therapy.

Once the medical procedure has been completed, the physician mayreattach the front panel 10 by folding it up against the patient's chestand folding the upper sleeve 18 over the lower sleeve 16 to engage thefasteners 20, 22. This method may be repeated any number of timeswithout wearing down the fabric of the gown 10 or the fasteners.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A patient gown, comprising: a robe having a main opening at a back ofthe robe, wherein at least one side of a front upper portion of the robeis releasably attachable to a corresponding side of a back upper portionof the robe to provide frontal access through a chest portion of therobe; at least one fastener located near a shoulder portion of the robefor attaching and detaching the front upper portion to the correspondingback upper portion.
 2. The patient gown of claim 1, further comprisingat least one secondary fastener near the main opening for securing andre-opening the back of the robe.
 3. The patient gown of claim 2, whereinthe at least one secondary fastener provides multiple positions forattachment to expand or reduce a fit size of gown.
 4. The patient gownof claim 2, wherein the at least one secondary fastener is a hook andloop fastener.
 5. The patient gown of claim 4, wherein one side of thehook and loop fastener is a strip that runs approximately perpendicularto the main opening of the gown, and the other side of the hook and loopfastener is a strip that runs approximately parallel to the main openingof the gown.
 6. The patient gown of claim 1, wherein the fastener islocated forward of the shoulder portion of the robe.
 7. The patient gownof claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener near the shoulder portionis a hook and loop fastener.
 8. The patient gown of claim 1, wherein theat least one side of the front upper portion may be detached from thecorresponding back upper portion from a lowest point of an arm-holeupwards.
 9. The patient gown of claim 1, wherein both sides of the frontupper portion are releasably attachable to the back upper portion. 10.The patient gown of claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener locatednear the shoulder portion enables a size of the gown to be adjusted. 11.The patient gown of claim 10, wherein the at least one fastener near theshoulder portion is a hook and loop fastener.
 12. The patient gown ofclaim 11, wherein one side of the hook and loop fastener is a stripapproximately perpendicular to the shoulder portion of the gown, andanother side of the hook and loop fastener is a strip approximatelyparallel to the shoulder portion of the gown.
 13. The patient gown ofclaim 1, further comprising a piece of material extending from at leastone side of the back portion of the gown out over a patient's shoulder.14. The patient gown of claim 13, wherein the at least one fastener islocated on the piece of material extending over the patient's shoulder.15. A method for accessing a front of a patient's body, wherein thepatient is laying down and wearing a back-open gown, at least one sideof a front upper portion of the gown being releasably attachable to acorresponding side of a back upper portion of the gown to providefrontal access through a chest portion of the gown, and the gown havingat least one fastener located near a shoulder portion for attaching anddetaching the front upper portion to the corresponding back upperportion, the method comprising: manipulating the gown by detaching atleast one side of a front upper portion of the gown from a back upperportion; and folding down the detached front portion of the gown. 16.The method of claim 15, further comprising re-attaching the front upperportion of the gown to the back upper portion.
 17. A patient gown,comprising: a removable cover means, having a front portion, a backportion, armholes at either sides, and a main opening extending along alength of the back portion; a frontal access means, the frontal accessmeans including a secondary opening near a top portion of the covermeans; frontal fastening means, the frontal fastening means beingpositioned relative to the secondary opening and providing fordetachment and reattachment of a front upper portion of the cover meansto a corresponding back upper portion of the cover means.
 18. Thepatient gown of claim 17, further comprising a second fastening meansbeing positioned relative to a main opening of the gown.
 19. The patientgown of claim 17, wherein the frontal fastening means and the secondfastening means are of the same type.
 20. A patient gown, comprising: aremovable covering, the removable covering having a front panel and aback panel, wherein the front panel and back panel may be releasablyattached to form sleeves at either sides, and wherein the front panel isstitched to the back panel along a seam running lengthwise below thesleeves; a main opening extending along a length of the back panel; afrontal opening extending across a top portion of the covering relativeto a shoulder line, the frontal opening enabling an upper portion of thefront panel to be temporarily detached from the back panel down to alowest point of each sleeve; at least one rear fastener positionedrelative to the main opening, the at least one rear fastener providingfor multiple positions for attachment to expand or reduce a fit size ofthe covering; and at least one shoulder fastener positioned relative tothe frontal opening, the at least one shoulder fastener providing formultiple positions for attachment of the front panel of the covering tothe back panel and to expand or reduce a fit size of the covering.